The paper also reported that Weinstein reached confidential settlements with at least eight women, including actress Rose McGowan.

In a statement to the New York Times, Weinstein addressed the allegations, saying he "came of age in the '60s and '70s, when all the rules about behaviour and workplaces were different."

Harvey Weinstein is taking a leave of absence from his own company after The New York Times released a report alleging decades of sexual harassment against women.

Photo: AP

Advertisement

"I appreciate the way I've behaved with colleagues in the past has caused a lot of pain, and I sincerely apologise for it. Though I'm trying to do better, I know I have a long way to go," the statement read.

The Times story cites a memo drafted by Lauren O'Connor, a former Weinstein Co employee, which raised alarms about allegations over a two-year period.

Another incident involved a temporary employee named Emily Nestor, who was invited to Weinstein's hotel room in 2014 and told he could help her career in exchange for sexual advances.

While Weinstein disputes some of the specific allegations, he is working with a therapist to address his behaviour, the Times reported.

Actresses Rose McGowan and Ashley Judd were among the women named in the report.

Photo: AP

The story quotes actress Ashley Judd, who spoke to Variety in 2015 about being sexually harassed by an unnamed mogul.

Weinstein, producer of Oscar-winning films such as The English Patient and Shakespeare in Love, is best known as the founder of Miramax with his brother Bob. In the mid-'90s, the company helped usher in Hollywood's indie fixation, producing breakthrough hits including Sex, Lies and Videotape, Pulp Fiction and Clerks.

The brothers sold that business to Walt Disney Co. and ran it for several years, clashing at times with management over the release of films such as Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11. In 2005, they left Miramax and founded The Weinstein Company.

Variety reported on Thursday that Weinstein was readying a team of lawyers to deal with the accusations.

Lisa Bloom, an attorney advising the producer, said in a statement that "he denies many of the accusations as patently false."